Vapor Trails and Titan Tales
by KatMeister
Summary: Out of the crater rose a girl, alien in nature, with fiery red hair who shouted gibberish at the gathered civilians. It was then that Daniel Fenton knew that the day was going to be anything but normal, safe, or average. What he didn't know was the girl and her pursuers were going to single-handedly change his life, for good or ill.
1. Chapter 1

Vapor Trails and Titan Tales

Chapter 1: The Ghost, the Alien, and the Fishpeople Part 1

* * *

The explosion had been simultaneously shocking and completely predictable.

It was no secret that the Fentons practiced in an…_unorthodox_ field of study. It was even less of a secret that experiments of all natures took place in their home and basement. So when their entire building was blown sky high one fateful night, people didn't have to waste time wondering what could have possibly caused it. It was quite obvious to both investigators and local police that one of the family's freaky experiments finally proved their undoing. Even the strange government men in white suits, who arrived shortly after the explosion, agreed with the conclusion.

The Fentons were not disliked in the small town of Amity Park, but weren't exactly popular either. Citizens agreed the bunch were just plain _weird_. The town politely mourned in public but did not waste time shedding tears over their graves. Of course, it actually _had_ been tragic to see Jack and Maddie Fenton's children parish in the blaze- snuffed out of existence so early in life. One was their ten year old daughter, Jasmine, who had been very bright and sensible for her age. The other was their younger son, Daniel, who just turned seven a week before the accident. His death was deemed especially tragic- police weren't even able to recover his body from the resulting wreckage. It was determined that he had to have been very close to the explosion's origin- and thus there was simply _nothing left_ to bury.

They were laid to rest together a week later, and a public service was held. To the town's collective surprise, influential businessman and avid Wisconsin Packers enthusiast Vlad Masters attended the burial. He seemed reserved, and didn't speak much before returning home- but only after requesting a personal look at the crime scene. The patrol on duty all became five hundred dollars richer that night as the wealthy man strolled "unnoticed" into the crime scene.

After the deaths were officially ruled accidents, roughly a month later, construction crews went to work clearing away debris and taking down any of the building that was still in tact. The same government officials in white helped with the cleanup, mainly dealing with the disposal of the Fentons' inventions and ectoplasmic materials- for the family had been experts in all things ghost-related.

Time passed quickly after that for the little town. Eventually, a new series of apartments were put in place of the Fenton Labs, and tenants took up residence in the late eccentric family's absence; tenants such as a very old woman who owned half a dozen cats and listened to old, deafening radio dramas, and a middle aged obsessive compulsive man who would wipe down his door knob every day at seven o'clock on the hour every hour- all of which filled the "weirdness" gap left by the family quite nicely.

Sometimes the topic of the Fentons' deaths would be brought up when gossip in Amity Park dried up, but it would be accurate to say that the their deaths all but faded away into obscurity.

It would take seven years for the Fentons' deaths to be yanked into the public eye once again- though only a select few would make the connection between the appearance of a new super powered teen and the late ghost-hunters. One of which was the aforementioned Packers enthusiast, and the other the curious government men in white- that latter of which's intentions for the teen would be anything by good.

Said appearance would occur by complete chance. It started with an alien prisoner falling from the sky, and Daniel Fenton robbing a bank.

* * *

Sometimes, it felt like cheating.

When he could literally walk in and out of a bank's vault completely unnoticed, Daniel Fenton almost felt bad about stealing thousands upon thousands of dollars from unsuspecting targets.

Almost, being the key word- he obviously did not feel bad enough to stop.

After a certain point, it wasn't even about the money any more. When he was little, he stole to get by. Now, he stole because…well, he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. Just a little bit. It wasn't like he was physically hurting anyone, anyway. He resolved to never use his powers to harm people who didn't deserve it- not after the incident in New Mexico three years ago with the buildings and the street lamps…He shook himself at the memory, and focused on the task at hand; namely, stealing from Jump City First.

If Daniel had been a normal teenager, he would have been spending the cool night out with friends, maybe eating at some greasy burger joint somewhere, staying out after curfew only to get scolded by overprotective parents.

Normal teenagers didn't spend their weekends casually planning to commit grand larceny.

But he wasn't a normal teenager. In fact, he wasn't even a normal _human_. Normal humans didn't phase through walls, turn invisible, fly, or shoot ectoplasmic energy from their finger tips. Normal humans weren't half ghost- or whatever he was. Daniel was never really sure what exactly he was. For as long as he could remember, his hair was an abnormal white, his eyes a sharp, _glowing_ green, and he sported the aforementioned abilities.

Abilities that made many tasks, such as stealing, quite easy.

As he approached Jump City First, his hoodie drawn up to cover his distinguishable albino locks, Daniel took in the city around him. It was night, but the streets were still very lively. Cars sped by, couples were out, but no one gave him a second glance. He smiled at the sight of his target's blackened interior. The bank had closed and hour earlier- he preferred it that way; there was a less chance of ever being caught, and an even slimmer chance of anyone getting hurt.

By all accounts, the job wasn't anything different than what he'd done dozens of times before. Normal. Safe. Average.

He readied himself to phase through the walls, levitating a few inches of the ground, when something happened. Or rather, _someone_ happened.

Out of nowhere, A streak of bright green energy fell from the sky, impacting in the street nearby. The ground quaked, knocking some people right off their feet. Out of its crater rose a girl, alien in nature, with fiery red hair who shouted gibberish at the gathered civilians. It was then that Daniel knew that the day was going to be anything but normal, safe, or average. What he didn't know, of course, was that the girl and her pursuers were going to singlehandedly change his life, for good or ill.

* * *

Robin, Gotham City's Boy Wonder, ex-sidekick to the infamous Caped Crusader, hadn't expected a job so…_big_ so early out on his own- a fact he contemplated as he dodged another fatal swing aimed at his head.

Indeed, fighting a hyper destructive, super strong crash-landed alien wasn't something he thought he'd be doing in Jump City. She was yelling something at him, no doubt in her native tongue, but he couldn't make out a cent of it. He was more preoccupied with keeping his head on his shoulders as she tossed around cars like hacky sacks. The bands around her forearms said she was a captive, or a prisoner. Maybe an escaped convict? He wasn't rolling anything out.

The alien brushed off all his attacks as if she was made of iron, something he was also not rolling out. With a crack of her neck, she smirked and charged toward him, arms raised and let out a battle cry-

Only to be sidelined by a green ram. She was knocked out of the air and into a nearby bus, crumpling the steel frame like tissue paper but was nevertheless momentarily dazed.

Said green animal morphed into a green boy, younger than Robin in a ridiculous mask and posed in a strict salute.

"Ex-Doom Patrol member Beast Boy, sir! How can I help?" He blinked, realizing just who he was talking to. "Wowzers! You're Robin, aren't you, sir?"

Robin frowned at the formality. "Well, you can start by not calling me 'sir.'"

Beast Boy's eyes practically sparkled. "Well let me just say that it's a real honor to be-"

"Beast Boy, was it?"

The green teen beamed. "Yes, sir?"

Robin pointed to their left. The alien was now up on her feet, and had the crumpled bus holstered above her head. The pair took a step back as she growled and threw the bus toward them with such force they barely managed to leap out its way. It flew through the air with no intention of stopping until someone else stood before it, _caught_ it, and tossed it aside with a grunt. Said person was cloaked in sweat gear, reveling only patches of his dark skin.

"Yo! Who's wreaking up my neighborhood?" He shouted with a scowl, looking over Robin and Beast Boy.

"She started it!" Best Boy said defensively, pointing out the angry alien who only growled.

"Who's tha-?" The newcomer asked, only to cut off as the girl raised her hands again, this time slamming them to the ground with a quake.

Robin watched the outer casing of her bindings fall to the ground, smoking. Realization flashed in his mind. She hadn't been mindlessly destructive- she'd been trying to get the cuffs off! But why would she-?

His unasked question was answered as the alien aimed her uncovered fists at the trio, which shined a bright green. Projectile energy. They had to move, and _quickly_.

"Move!"

Robin shouted, just as she readied to shoot at them- when _something_ happened. The girl jerked strangely, throwing herself off balance.

"Are those…hands?" Beast Boy asked, and it took a moment for Robin to notice what he was talking about.

It _was_ a pair of hands. A pair of hands, looking strangely ethereal, had appeared from _within_ the street and grabbed hold of the girl's legs, before sinking back into the ground, pulling the girl along- leaving her knee deep in the concrete before stopping. The alien yelled and jerked, struggling to free her legs. Cracks began to form around her as she attempted to yank herself free.

"You know, destroying everything in sight isn't exactly a good first impression." A voice cackled from seemingly no where.

Then another person just appeared from thin air, floating a few feet above ground near the trio, looking quite relaxed, all things considered. Robin could make out strands of white poking out from under his dark hood, and a pair of hauntingly bright green eyes that swept over the scene. Obviously a teenager as well, he sported a pair of worn jeans and ratty sneakers, a dark hoodie and a strange smirk, as if crazy aliens were just apart of his normal routine.

"We Earthlings tend to like it when our stuff _isn't_ completely obliterated." He turned over to look at the trio. "What's up? Come here often?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth but the alien had already gotten herself free, kicking up chunks or street with a feral snarl.

"She does _not_ look happy, does she?" The floating newcomer asked airily. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the crater."

"That might have something to do with you sinking her, dude." Beast Boy panned, and then grinned. "How'd you do that?"

"Gorta de morto ruka-nul!" The alien cut them off, aiming her hands at them again, and let of a rapid fire of green energy bolts.

The group scattered, taking refuge behind an overturned truck- all but the snarky albino, who stayed where he was, and the bolts seemed to go _through _him, like he was air. Robin's eyes narrowed, but he didn't have time to question the guy- not when there was the city-wreaking alien girl to deal with.

* * *

**(A/N) **Alright: feedback. I'm really serious here, guys. I've never done a story quite like this, I don't have a beta, and I know some of you might have been readers of my story _Hyde Syndrome. _I plan on this story being a lot more mature than that one, so I want to know what you think of it so far.

So, yeah. Please review!

Oh, and I will not be rehashing canon so shamelessly after these first chapters are out of the way. I just need to lay some ground work, and then we'll have Vlad, The Guy in White, and some baddies from the Ghost Zone to deal with. Hopefully, I'll be able to update this fic a lot more than my old one as well.


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

Vapor Trails and Titan Tales

Chapter 1: The Ghost, the Alien, and the Fishpeople Part 2

* * *

Daniel had no idea what he was doing.

Because what he was doing at the moment seemed suspiciously like full-blown hero work.

He _robbed_ people and places as casually as most people decided what to have for lunch.

So he asked himself again:

What, oh god what, was he doing even _considering_ getting further involved with this crashed-landed alien fiasco? After New Mexico, Daniel had sworn off getting involved with people. And what was he doing now? Getting involved.

When he looked between the simmering alien and the makeshift militia formed against her, that was hunkered down behind and overturned bus, a thought occurred to him.

He could fly away.

It was that simple. No one would or _could_ stop him. Daniel could avoid anymore of this mess, and forget it ever happened.

Briefly, blissfully, he considered the idea.

And then instantly dismissed it. You see, he had these tumorous…parasitic…nagging little things called _hero tendencies_. They didn't rear their ugly heads often, but when they _did_…

Well, trying to ignore them was like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole; no matter how much he smacked them down, they'd just spring back up again.

He sighed. Against every instinct that he had ingrained into his head over the years, Daniel decided to glide over to the bus. Sweat-Clothed Guy, Beast Boy, and Robin glanced his way, the latter eyeing him with mild suspicion. Of course Daniel knew who the domino mask-donning side-kick was. He and his batty mentor were the main reasons he never attempted any heist near the northeastern coast- though he had to wonder what Robin was doing so far from his nest. Had Bird Boy gone solo? And if that was the case; had _he_ left, or had _Batman_ kicked him out?

Huh. It was something to think about, at least, when everything boiled over.

Daniel shook himself. What was he doing again? Oh right, _helping_. "So…is hiding Plan A? Because I don't think that's going to help."

Robin looked at him, unamused. "We need to distract her to get close, but those energy blasts-" a stray bolt of green energy hit the bus and made it rock dangerously.

"Whatever we plan to do, we gotta do it fast. She's gunna tear up the whole city if this keeps up!" Dude-in-Sweat-Shirt said. Daniel really wished he knew the guy's name.

"Distraction is a no go," the ghostly teen added. "Unless you wanna end up like swiss cheese."

Daniel knew _he_ could get up close to her, but the less he showed off in front of Robin the better. Being around the side-kick of the world's greatest detective had him on edge. He wouldn't put it past the guy to somehow connect his robberies back to him once everything was over.

"Have any better ideas?" Nameless Guy asked.

"Hey, I'm not the one with experience here," Daniel said, defensively. He looked over at Robin. "I'm with the big guy. Got any better ideas?"

"Just one."

And with that, Robin sprinted out from under cover, metaphorical guns blazing, toward the alien. Nameless Guy and Beast Boy shared a look before following after. Daniel rolled his eyes so far back that they probably brushed his frontal lobe.

"When I said 'better ideas,' that did _not_ mean 'full frontal assault,'" he murmured, but followed as well.

Alien girl readied for another round, but just when the two groups were about to clash, a giant, raven-shaped wall of dark energy surged between them. Daniel felt his skin twitch strangely, but didn't have time to think about the sensation.

"Maybe…fighting isn't the answer?" a voice ventured from behind them.

A girl walked out from under the shadows of a nearby alley. She was dressed in a long cloak, and seemed leery of actually speaking now that all eyes were on her. Her violet eyes swept over the scene, the raven dissipated, and her gaze landed on the alien. The red head in question, surprisingly, wasn't moving to attack, just watching everyone closely. It almost seemed like…

Daniel didn't know what to think. Like the alien wasn't there to fight. When Daniel thought about it, she probably couldn't understand a word they were saying. Maybe she was confused, and defending herself now her outer cuffs were off?

So…that left another question: was she an escaped convict, or an escaped prisoner?

Absently, Daniel wondered why he was putting so much thought into this. As soon any immediate threats were taken care of, he was splitting.

He looked back at the alien, having gotten lost in his thoughts, and saw Robin had approached her. She shouted more gibberish, but Robin somehow withdrew a screwdriver…soldering tool…_thing_ from his hammerspace of a utility belt, and held it up in a pacifying gesture.

"Easy," he ventured, taking slow, deliberate steps. "I'm just here to help, see?"

The ghostly teen wondered if Robin had ever had to defuse situations like this before. Like, hostage situations and stuff. He looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Trust me," he said simply, and the girl _actually_ compiled. She lowered her glowing hands and allowed him to work away at her remaining restraints. When they broke off, she rubbed her chafed wrists. Robin smiled. "See? Now if-"

And then alien girl grabbed the back of his head and planted one right on his lips. Like, a no holds bar, full contact, _smooch_. Daniel stopped mid hover. If that was a 'thank you' on her planet, he might just reconsider going hero if it meant visiting sometime.

After a five second lip-lock, she none-too-gently pushed him away and said, in somewhat stilted English, "If you wish not to be destroyed, then you will leave me alone!" and flew off.

No one said anything for a full half minute. Robin seemed too stunned to get up at first, just staring off in the direction she had went.

"Uh," Daniel said, dumbly. "Score?"

Still Nameless Guy seemed just as confused. "Girl sure knows how to make an impression."

"That's one way of putting it," Daniel replied, wondering just what he was supposed to do now. The girl was gone, so maybe now was the time to leave? Before something worse happened, that is. "Too many mixed signals, if you ask me."

"I think _we_ made a pretty good impression," Beast Boy chirped. "Crazy space girl's gone, and the city's saved. Mission accomplished! Right, sir?"

"Seriously. Stop calling me that," Robin shook himself and stood.

"Roger."

Boy Wonder turned to leave. "Looks like we're done here. I appreciate the help."

Nameless Guy called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Are you going to track down the alien?" the cloaked girl asked.

"I need to know if she's still a threat," Boy Wonder replied.

"That or see of he can get another kiss…" Guy-In-Sweat-Gear added under his breath.

Beast Boy spoke up. "Maybe we should-"

"Sorry, I just went solo," Robin cut him off and kept walking. "I'm not looking to join a team."

Beast Boy visibly drooped. "Need a side kick…?"

Daniel began to float away, and everyone else seemed to have the same idea. Beast Boy didn't want to have any of it, though. "Hey- wait! Do you guys wanna get a pizza?"

It was almost sad to watch. The cloaked girl looked away. "I shouldn't."

Daniel was just about to turn invisible when the green guy's eyes shifted to him. "Hey, what about you? You could show me that cool trick you did before- you know, with your hands and-"

_That's what she said_ was on the tip of his tongue, but he refused to joke. He would _not_ get close to people and _not_ make friends. He had to nip this in the bud. "Sorry. I've got things to do."

It was the lamest excuse ever, but he ended the conversation by exiting the visual spectrum. He didn't fly off though. No, he watched Beast Boy attempt to get Nameless Guy's attention, a giant tug of guilt weighing in his chest. The kid was practically crying of for some friends- or heck, just someone to interact with. The albino knew more than a thing or two about loneliness.

Nameless Guy did his best to just ignore Beast Boy, though the shapeshifter didn't seem to notice.

"So it's just you me, huh?" he said with a grin. "Cool. I haven't really had anyone to hang out with since I quit the Doom Patrol- this is gunna be fun! Do you play video games-?"

Nameless Guy stopped dead, whirled around to stare Beast Boy dead in the eye, and threw back his hood. Daniel certainly hadn't been expecting what he saw. The guy's face was half metal and techno-looking, his one eye glowing red and his various circuitry glowing blue.

"There! Take a good long look!" He practically shouted. "I had an accident, and now I'm a monster, alright? A cyborg!"

The showy exclamation had probably been meant to scare Beast Boy away. Unfortunately, it did the opposite.

"Cyborg?" Stars appeared in his eyes. "_Cool!_ You're like robot-man 2.0!"

"…you're a weird little dude, you know that?"

"Haha, you called me _dude_."

Well, Daniel thought, at least he had a kinda-name for the guy now: Cyborg. Not that it mattered. He readied himself to bolt when-

Well, a spaceship appeared over head, landed on the single little island on Jump Lake, and the holographic form of what could only be called a fish-alien-man-thing addressed the city as a whole.

Sure.

Why not? It was just that kind of day.

Daniel subconsciously floated back to the ground, where everyone else seemed to be gathering back up again.

"Looks like space girl has friends," Cyborg said.

"Or enemies," Robin countered, eyes narrowing.

The hologram began speaking. "People of Earth. We come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner. A very _dangerous_ prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her, your destruction _will_ be _absolute_."

And the message flickered away, followed by dozens of aliens being let loose from the ship and ascending on Jump. Apparently, their version of _"looking"_ meant tearing everything in their way apart at the seams. Now Daniel was sure there was more to this story than what they knew.

"That's a big ship," Cyborg said tensely.

"And those are some scary looking aliens," Beast Boy added.

The cloaked girl, who had been silent up to then, spoke up. "They told us not to interfere."

Robin remained silent. Daniel sighed. He was already in the water- might as well take the dive. He allowed himself to become visible again. "Yeah, but I've never been one for following orders. Stubbornness issues, you know."

Beast Boy jumped. "Ah! Don't do that!"

Daniel blinked. "Oh. Right. Invisibility- sorry," he looked over at Robin. "I know I can't be the only one here who smells something rotten about this mess. I have a hard time believing the guys ripping apart cars have the moral high ground."

Robin paused, then nodded. "Well, I suppose I can team up- just this once."

* * *

**(A/N): **Final part up soon. Sorry for the wait- please drop me a line and tell me what you think!

***EDIT* **Guys guys guys! When I say "final part" I man the final part of this introduction thingy. NOT the final part of this story all together. Oh no, that's way far off. Sorry for the confusion, lol.


	3. Chapter 1 Part 3

Vapor Trails and Titan Tales

Chapter 1: The Ghost, the Alien, and the Fishpeople Part 3

* * *

Quick introductions were made as they walked.

"I'm Robin, though most of you already knew that."

"In the Doom Patrol everyone called me Beast Boy, so you guys can too!"

"…Cyborg's fine. It's pretty much what I am at this point."

They looked at Daniel expectantly, and he briefly flickered invisible under their gazes. He didn't want to give them his real name, so… "Erm. Danny works for me, I guess."

Cloaked Girl mumbled that her name was Raven, abet with reluctance. She had a weird sort of torn look about her face- one that Daniel easily identified as simultaneously wanting to help, but knowing she wasn't exactly "fit" for hero work- because he was feeling the exact same thing. Of course, he had no idea what her damage was, and had no plans of sticking around to find out.

He knew he didn't exactly have the same morals as them- a fact made all the more apparent when they snuck past a group of the lizard aliens carving up cars like Halloween pumpkins, scaring the living daylights out of it's roughly ejected occupants, and the first thing to tumble out of his mouth was:

"That Camaro is worth ten thousand in parts! Argh, look at what they're _doing_ to it! No respect. That's enough to last me _at least_-" he growled indignantly under his breath, only to stop short when he noticed four pairs of eyes watching him with raised eyebrows. "I mean- sucks about peoples' stuff. Y-Yeah. Heheh."

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly, but let the comment slide. Daniel let out a low breath and continued to hover near the back of the group.

"Okay," Boy Wonder started once they were out of earshot of any invaders. "We need to find out where the Alien-"

"She's near," Raven spoke up suddenly, only to shrink back at everyone's confused glances. "I can sense things…" she added softly, as if that explained everything.

"Anybody have anything more specific?"

"I can try to track her scent!" Beast Boy grinned, happy to be useful, and transformed into a bloodhound before sniffing everything in sight.

"And I have a sonic analyzer built into my arm. If she's close, I'll hear it," Cyborg added, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a completely electronic arm. Daniel grimaced- just what the heck happened to make the guy 90% circuit board? Nothing pleasant, he imagined, if his shouting about having and "accident" earlier was anything to go by. Their little group was looking more and more ragtag by the second.

"…I'll just float here," Daniel felt the need to add, subconsciously pulling on the drawstring of his hoody, further concealing his white air and lower face.

Luckily, they were saved from any awkward silence, as Beast Boy quickly piped up, "I've got her trail!"

"And I've got her heartbeat," Cyborg added.

"Good, let's go," Robin led the group as the followed Beast Boy, who eventually lead them to a video store.

(However, it didn't take a genius to know she was in the place, what with the giant melted hole in the wall.)

True enough, the red haired alien was inside, near a candy and snacks display, and was eating anything she could get her hands on (wrappers and all) without the slightest notion of table manners.

"Alien stomach or no, plastic probably won't agree with you," Daniel said, floating a little higher than everyone else as to get a better look at the girl eating part of a cardboard bowl he imagined once held popcorn.

She froze for a slit second, before wheeling around, her eyes flaring an electric green.

"Then again…who knows a girl's body better than herself, right?" he hastily added, barely catching Beast Boy stifling a laugh.

The Alien growled. Robin shot them both a withering glance and held up his hands. "_Easy_. We're friends, remember?"

The girl took a step toward them, her head cocked to the side. "Friends? Why? For what purpose did you free me?"

"We were just…trying to be nice, is all."

"_Nice_…" she spat the word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. "What is _nice_? We have no such word on my planet. Closest things is _rutha_; **weak**!"

Cyrborg grunted. "Yeah? Well here, nice means nice. And if you want us to keep being nice, you better tell us why the Lizard King took you prisoner."

She paused. Her eyes flickered searchingly across their faces, before she let her powers flare down. She stood erect with her hands intertwined before her- the change in demeanor sent them all for a minor loop, but then she spoke;

"Not prisoner," she said softly. "I am…prize," she shifted awkwardly on her feet, looking ashamed. "The Gordanians are to deliver me to the Citadel, to live out my days as their servant."

Though they had no context who any of these people were, they all flinched at the implied meaning behind her words. Raven asked the question on all their lips.

"And the Citadel are…?"

"Not. Nice."

Daniel's stomach churned. _Well,_ he thought plainly. _This whole mess just got a whole lot more complicated._ Now his stupid conscious would _definitely_ not allow him to leave- at least before he knew Space Girl was safe- or the lizards were gone.

"Then you're not going with them," Robin approached her and put and hand on her shoulder. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You mean _we_, right?" Beast Boy smiled, and the Alien's eyes smiled back slightly-

-but the tender moment was instantly broken up as one of the walls exploded into dust and debris. Daniel turned intangible on instinct just quick enough, grabbing hold of the closest person he could to keep them safe, which just so happened to Raven.

A ripple of something very unpleasant shot up his spine the moment he extended his powers to her, however. He yelped and let her go, the rush of cold and hot and pain that had been dancing under his skin instantly vanishing when he did. He felt dizzy for a split second, but didn't have time to contemplate what the heck just happened, as they were suddenly set upon by three dozen groups of lizard foot soldiers.

"Seize her!" a command sounded.

They all shared a look before meeting the oncoming charge head-on. Their attack was by no means organized, and didn't look like anything a proper team would execute, but that didn't matter. Cyborg went the brute force approach, bashing aliens over the head and throwing them across the store. Beast Boy changed into a multitude of animals, the most prevalent being a rhinoceros, and rammed soldiers into the air and walls.

Space Girl followed Cyborg's lead, though with much deadlier efficiency, and Robin was like a deadly ninja assassin, using a staff, acrobatics and agility of overpower anyone near.

Daniel hadn't been a proper fight in a year or so, so he was a bit out of practice. He relied on staying untouchable a bit too much for his liking- but played that to his advantage. He'd draw enemies into attacking, phase through their swings, reappear behind them, and blast them in the back. A few he phased half-in and half-out of the walls and floor, making them easier to knock out. He caught himself before he overshadowed one- remembering that he had Bird Boy's uber detective eyes to watch out for. He had to be careful. He had to stay as unremarkable as possible- within reason.

The fight was pushed out of the store quickly. Cyborg was hit with a particularly nasty energy blast and most of his sweat gear was torn to pieces. Robin saved Space Girl from getting stabbed a few times, and she returned the favor. Raven used her weird…darkness…energy _stuff_ to knock aliens around with a street lamp like it was baseball bat.

To the others, Daniel flickered in and out of existence, mostly giving support and tripping up lizards when they let down their guard- but he was actually keeping out of the direct line of fire to stay away from Raven, because every time she used her powers, his skin would crawl.

One alien managed to get a hold of his hood and literally _tear it off_ (choking him somewhat in the process) before he slipped out its grasp and flung it into the concrete.

Eventually, they retreated, flying into the air and back to their little island station.

"I believe your express is…_thanks_." Space Girl said after a moment of silence, half-smiling their way.

Robin returned it. Cyborg sighed, picked off the reminding bits of his sweat shirt. "Aw man, my suit…"

"So?" Beast Boy looked up at him. "You look way cooler without it."

"I gotta agree," Daniel appeared from nowhere by the changeling's side ("Don't do that, dude!" "Sorry, invisible, gotta remember that."). "_Way_ cooler indeed."

Cyborg lifted and eyebrow. "Yeah, like I'm going to take fashion advice from guy in a goofy mask, and tips from the person with hair that looks like it swallowed a bottle of bleach."

Daniel's hands flew up to his now exposed head of snow white hair, panic racing through his heart.

"Goofy?" Beats Boy whined. "But…my mask is cool, isn't it? Right? Raven?"

The girl shook her head.

"But what about my secret identity?"

"What secret identity?" Raven asked. "You're green."

"I-ah-erm-_oh_," he pulled his mask off to reveal a full head of similarly colored green hair. "Good point," he glanced over at Daniel, who was having a minor panic attack. "Oh sweet! Is your hair like that all the time?"

"Er…yes?"

"Awesome."

"…thanks?"

Robin cleared his throat, focusing everyone's attention back to him.

"This isn't over yet. Now that we've interfered-"

Space Girl cut him off. "Trogar with strike back harder. It is only a matter of-"

"_Fools!_"

The same giant hologram appeared as before, this time looking very angry. "You primitive Earth scum were warned. Your insolence in matters you do not understand will be punished!"

"Oh boy," Daniel grimaced.

"Your city _shall be __**destroyed**_!"

The hologram fizzled away and people began screaming. A giant space ship, outfitted with something that looked like a laser gun on steroids, slowly drifted into view, humming to power. It was charging, and was pointed directing at them.

"_Great_," Raven droned, looking up at thing that was undoubtedly going to slaughter the entire city in minutes.

"So…on top of crashing the pizza place and ruining a perfectly good video store, now we've managed to make a giant space gecko mad enough to vaporize the entire city?!"

"Go team," Cyborg added. Daniel's palm met his forehead. He knew this was a stupid idea! Stupid! _Stupid!_

Space Girl reared back at Robin. "All the fault is yours! I commanded you to leave me alone but you insisted upon the _**being nice**_!"

"My fault?!" he yelled back. "You blast me, you _kiss_ me, but you never stopped to mention they have a gigantic particle weapon?!"

The hostility between the two seemed to spread. Beast Boy yelled at Cyborg. "We're doomed! I can't believe I let _you_ talk me into this!"

"Say what?! _I_ was ready to walk away!"

Shouting escalated and Daniel's powers began to act up as tensions raised. He starting turning visible and invisible rapidly, his green eyes glowing an even stronger, _haunting_ green, and he fisted his hair.

"_Stupid stupid stupid_! Oh my god, I _knew_ something like this would happen! Why don't I ever listen to myself-?!"

**"QUIET!"**

Raven shouted at them all, face livid for a split second, and a nearby street lamp exploded. Everyone shut up and stared at her.

She stared back, before offering a small, "…hi."

Robin scowled. "Look," he said to them all. "It doesn't matter how we ended up in this mess; we're in it. And we will get out of it- _together_."

It barely counted as a rousing speech, but did the trick all the same. It _was_ their fault an entire city of people were about to be killed, and they all knew they had to do something about it. They all nodded, offering smiles and smirks at one another. Daniel calmed down as well, and offered a shrug.

"Then we have a city to save."

"But how are we to board the Gordanian ship without causing attention?" Space Girl asked. "As far as I have seen, only four of us are capable to flight."

"I have an idea," Raven said.

* * *

Robin knew things weren't exactly looking good at the moment, but he genuinely believed they had a chance of beating the lizard invaders before they had a chance to fire their particle weapon.

After all, from what he'd seen, all of them were capable of a lot on their own, so if they functioned as a proper team, the odds were in their favor. Strategies and battle plans were already rushing through his head, thinking about who would best compliment who in the upcoming fight, as Raven explained she could mass-teleport the group aboard the ship with little trouble.

The Alien girl was obviously much more of a run-and-gun type, but could handle both up-close and ranged combat. He already had a sneaking suspicion her planet was one of warriors, and warriors tended to have a strong sense of loyalty to others. He knew he could count on her to carry her weight.

Beast Boy seemed the best to work with anyone (and said he had worked with a team in the past), as his shape shifting abilities meant he could support anyone's skill set while adapting to changes in battle quickly. He, too, seemed very loyal, and would definitely be watching everyone's back. The same went for Cyborg, even if the half-robot seemed uncomfortable with his arguments at the moment. Whatever had caused him to be the way he was must have happened relatively recently.

Raven was quiet and still seemed reluctant to be with them, but Robin would tell her reluctance was not born of shady morals. She seemed like she didn't trust herself to be good. For whatever reason she thought that, Robin would not pry. She was helping, and that was all that mattered.

And then there was…

"Yeah, no. Sorry, but I think I'll fly separate, if that's okay with you guys," the last member of the group, Danny, said, rubbing the back of his neck.

With his hood gone, he looked like the second youngest of them, just older than Beast Boy.

"Why?" Robin asked, crossing his arms.

In all honestly Robin didn't know what to make of the albino, and that bothered him. His powers were eclectic to say the least, and Robin had no doubt he was capable of more than he was showing them. The way the teen held himself, to how he tried to stay as unnoticeable as possible, and the way his eyes flickered periodically to him when he thought he wasn't looking…

"Well…no offense, Raven, but your powers give me the major heebie-jeebies," he said to the cloaked girl. "I'll just follow you guys- walls aren't really a problem for me and I'm good at not being spotted, you know?"

"We should stay together," Robin said sternly.

"And who put you in charge?" Danny challenged. "I haven't split yet, so you can trust me not to now."

"Was that supposed to fill me with confidence?"

"Uh, guys?" Beast Boy interjected, looking up at the death cannon above them.

Space Girl slammed her foot down. "Enough of this. We have no time for petty arguments while people are in danger."

Robin opened his mouth to argue, but Raven cut them off. "She's right. And it's alright, Danny."

"Thanks," the albino replied, smiling crookedly her way. "Meet you guys up above."

And he vanished.

Robin bit back a growl. They were right. He had to put his feeling aside for the moment. The aliens came first.

And then he'd have a word with Danny, because he'd seen more than his far share of lawbreakers in his life, and the albino carried himself just like one.

* * *

Daniel watched the group stand around Raven, and she engulfed them with her powers. The mass of dark energy turned into the shape of a bird and shot up toward the ship. He followed.

Mentally kicking himself as he flew upward and phased into the space ship, Daniel didn't feel scared, ironically. He had little doubt they'd beat the aliens. He'd seen all of them fight off dozens of the guys before, so tearing past groups of guards shouldn't be such a big problem. No, he felt…sad. Sad and panicked at the same time.

Panicked because Robin didn't trust him, and was no doubt using his Baby Bat Brain to put together what he was.

Sad because…

Because…

He _liked_ fighting beside the group of super powered misfits. He shocked himself with the thought, but it was true. He'd never been able to rely on anyone before. He'd always been alone, and up until a few hours ago, he liked it that way and thought it was best. But there had been this unspoken comradely between them that Daniel instantly missed the second he split up from them. He barely knew them, but he wondered if being with them was like having friends.

It was stupid and he knew better…but he wanted to be with them as long as possible. But he knew he couldn't, because he was going to leave the instant they destroyed the cannon. Robin was onto him, he just knew it, and after everything in New Mexico…

He just…couldn't.

He sighed, and pushed the depressing thoughts away. There was a city to save, and a sidekick to prove wrong.

He flew into the ship just in time to catch the group reappear. Beast Boy was shivering.

"Man, Danny was right. That dark energy stuff gives me the-" he stopped, eying Raven next to him. "I mean, it's cool! Heheheh."

"Where is the guy anyway?" Cyborg asked, looking around. Danny stifled and chuckle and snuck up behind him, leaned down to his ear and-

"_Boo_."

"Ahhh!" Cyborg yelped and was instantly shhhed by everyone. Danny reappeared and had to fight a smile.

"Looking for little old me?"

Cyborg scowled. "Now I owe you one, you know that, right?"

"Count me quaking in my boots," Danny grinned.

A group of guards passed by them and they crouched down, out of sight.

"We have to find and destroy the firing controls," Robin whispered, gesturing for them to follow. After about five minutes of sneaking around, Space Girl spoke up.

"I bring you all…apology," she said, referring to their little shouting matches before.

"Don't worry about it," Robin replied. "I'm sorry I yelled too."

"And again, you are…nice," she smiled. "On my world, only my Kanorfka has shown me such kindness."

"Well, things are different here."

The two smiled at each other, and Daniel honestly expected swaying music and red hearts to appear around them, but-

"I think they know we're here!" Beast Boy yelped, pointing at a large group of aliens charging their way.

"We don't have time for this! We need to find the control room!" Robin shouted, bashing one soldier over the head with his staff.

"I think I may know the way from here," Space Girl said, clocking another in the face.

"Good, let's go! Take them out if they try to stop you!"

In a flurry of fighting, they made a path to a large doorway, the Alien redhead leading the charge. She threw back her arms and slammed it open just as a voice was declaring;

"…this will show those humans that it takes more and six juvenile heroes to defeat the mighty lord Trogar-!"

"We're not six heroes," Robin said, shocking the entire crew. "_We're one team_!"

Trogar looked outraged. "Don't just stand there like idiots! Get them!"

The groups clashed. At first, neither side was budging- something that didn't spell for much good, as the cannon was lighting up and one alien was typing furiously at the controls.

"Almost ready to fire, my lord!"

"Destroy that pathetic city the instant you can!" Trogar yelled, knocking Space Girl around when she tried to land a kick on him.

Daniel's eyes narrowed and he yelled to Robin. "I'll stop the cannon!"

Cyborg looked his way. "You can't just smash the controls, man! That might make things worse!"

"I don't plan to," Daniel said, eying the one alien at the control panel.

"What? You got a degree in alien tech or something?"

"No," Daniel turned intangible, throwing caution to the wind in the face of danger. "But he does!"

He shot past all the aliens in his way, flying though some, and slammed into the soldier at the controls, seeping into his body and mind, overshadowing him instantly.

Usually, Daniel hated overshadowing innocent people. For one, he lacked the grace to leave a person unscarred from the experience, and he respected peoples' privacy enough to not rifle around their heads.

Fortunately, however, the alien was not innocent. Daniel dug furiously around in the guy's brain, digging up everything he knew about how the ship worked. Finding how to shut off the cannon and deny anyone further access to the firing sequence wasn't too hard. Not a moment too soon, he shut off everything-

Only to be rocketed out of the alien's body via a strong blow to the head. Dazed and only half-seeing everything, a clawed hand gripped his neck and lifted him into the air.

"I don't know what you are, abomination, but you have made the last mistake of your _life_," Trogar growled, tightening his hold. Daniel was too confused and oxygen deprived to phase through his grip, and his vision began to darken-

"Stay away from my _**friends**_!" Raven's voice echoed in his ears. "_**Azarath Metrion **__**ZINTHOS**__!"_

And then everything exploded in a blur of white. Daniel was suddenly able to breathe again and he fell on his back, hitting the floor hard. His ears rang and he couldn't see anything for a half a minute. The entire ship's roof was blow apart and aliens were lying unconscious or worse around him. The entire ship fell out of the sky fast, and hit Lake Jump with a humongous splash. Daniel tumbled sideways and tried to get a hold of something to stop himself, only for a slender arm to grab his and gently pull him up to his feet.

Space Girl was there, and pulled his arm over her shoulder to keep him up.

"Are you uninjured?"

"Relatively. I'll live. Thanks," he smiled at her. "Did we win?"

"I am not sure," she replied, looking around now that everything had settled. They were floating on the water. Robin was nearby, on his feet, as was Cyborg-

Who had his arm transformed into a type of mini cannon, and had just finished shooting a now-unconscious Trogar in the back.

"Okay, I'm only going to say this once," he said with a huge grin. "Booyah."

* * *

The following few hours are a blur to Daniel. A special police force came to round up any of the aliens still kicking (a force Robin apparently had contact with, which didn't surprise the albino in the slightest), and the broken ship eventually drifted to the island in the middle Jump Lake, where the aliens' space station still stood. Cyborg spent time with Robin discussing various things while the half-robot gushed over the alien tech. Space Girl spent time scavenging the wreckage and space station, looking for things she could claim as processions. Raven and Beast Boy, surprisingly, talked to each other the most, the latter most telling the former lame jokes, and the girl softly laughing at even the horrible ones.

For a few wonderful, carefree hours, Daniel hung out with them. Something he…he'd never done before. It was strange, and awkward, and foreign to him, but he enjoyed it. It was unspoken amongst them that not any of them had plans for what to do next.

Eventually, he found himself by the shore, looking down at the water, having taken off his sweatshirt and donning an old t-shirt. He sighed, and allowed himself to lift upwards-

"Are you leaving?"

He froze mid hover. Robin. He'd forgotten about Robin. _Oh crap_.

He slowly turned, fully expecting to be interrogated and shipped off to jail- only to find the Boy Wonder smiling at him. Genuinely.

He let his feet tough the ground. "I guess you wouldn't believe a _no_, would you?"

"No, not really," Robin stood next to him, grabbed a rock and skipped it across the lake's crystal waters. "Where were you planning to go?"

_Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie- don't you __**dare**__ tell him the truth- _"I don't really have a place to go. I just sort of," _(find the next place to hit up, hunt for loose pockets, the next car to strip) _"wander. Kinda."

Robin frowned, and looked at him. For a second, Daniel was a bit upset that he couldn't see the teen hero's eyes. It was only fair.

"How old are you?"

"Old enough."

Robin, wisely, didn't press things further than that. And that was good thing, because Daniel honestly found he couldn't trust his own mouth at the moment.

"I saw you take over that alien earlier," he stated, making Daniel's blood run cold. But then he continued with, "That was really smart. If you hadn't, half the city might be dust right now. How'd you do it?"

The teen smirked. "You can't expect me to reveal how I do all my best tricks, do you? That's how second-rate birthday magicians are born."

He half expected Robin to snap at him, but the sidekick just smirked back. "No, I guess not."

Despite this previous panic, Daniel felt a nice sort of contentment to settle between them. It was…nice.

Nice.

_That's like the word of the day around here. _

"Cyborg and I were talking. We think we made a pretty good team back there."

"I can't stay," Daniel muttered, looking downcast. He grabbed a rock and tried to skip it like Robin, but it sunk the instant it hit water.

"You can't, or you won't?"

"Both. Neither. I don't know."

Robin put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should let yourself try. We've all done things were not proud of," Daniel tensed (_heknowsheknowsheknows __**he knows**_) "But none of are perfect. Maybe this is something all of us need."

For a second neither of them spoke.

And then Daniel broke into a fit of near-hysterical laughter.

"_Ahahahahahaha!_ Oh man, don't go all Hallmark card on me, dude," Daniel grinned. Robin stared at him.

"Hmmm," he hummed, something lifting off his shoulders he'd held there for a long time, abet only slightly. "I'm not agreeing to anything yet, but I think I can stick around a little longer. You know, just to see how things turn out. Should be fun."

Robin smiled, and Daniel spared a last glance at the sky and water, before following him back to where the others were already gathered. Beast Boy waved his way, and both Raven and Cyborg nodded at him.

Space Girl joined them shortly after, now in different clothes, no doubt ones she'd rummaged from the ship.

"Please," she said hesitantly. "I look…nice?"

"We still don't know your name," Robin said.

"In your language, it would translate to Star-_Fire_."

"Welcome to Earth, Starfire," Robin walked up to her.

"I thank you all for your bravery and help," she said. "And I wish to ask permission to stay here. Where the people are most strange, but also most…kind."

The two looked away from each other and smiled.

"You don't need our permission," Raven said.

"But if you want our friendship, you can have it," Robin finished.

"I guess we could all use some more friends," Cyborg shrugged. Daniel nodded, floating near Beast Boy.

"Definitely."

"Besides," the changeling said with a grin. "We made a good team."

"I thought we might want to stay in touch," Robin withdrew four small, yellow devises from his belt and held them out to everyone. "So Cyborg and I designed these."

"Made them out of my own circuits," the half-robot boasted.

"Now all we're missing is a secret treehouse and passwords," Daniel smiled at everyone, and Cyborg looked behind them at the space station.

"I don't know about passwords, but I think I might just be able to make us the world's best treehouse," he grinned at the idea of transforming the place.

It would only be later, when the team started making a presence in Jump City, a name was given to them by the people:

The Teen Titans.

* * *

**(A/N): ***throws extra long chapter at faithful readers like they're vicious dogs*

Take it! Take it and please don't be mad!

Tell me what you think, as always, please. I'm not having pairings in this story- just an FYI (besides the canon ones, of course). Also, please tell me what you'd like to see what happens in this story. If it doesn't mess up my vaguely planned out plot at this point, there's a big chance I'll make it happen!


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